Fixing Air France

It’s never the airline news you want to see: An airline accident in which five people lost their lives. But last week’s runway collision involving a Japan Airlines A350 could have been so much worse. Mercifully, everyone aboard the JAL plane evacuated safely. Operationally, Tokyo Haneda airport — the world’s fifth busiest as recently as 2019 — is now operating without its main runway; it should be back in service this week.

In Europe, SAS hopes to get a fresh start in 2024, having filed its bankruptcy reorganization plan in the final days of 2023. If approved, the long-troubled Scandinavian airline will shift its allegiance from the Lufthansa Group to Air France-KLM. As for Air France-KLM itself, read this week’s feature story below for a closer look at its blueprint for stronger profit margins. It’s consistently trailed Lufthansa and IAG when it comes to margins. But the gap is narrowing as Air France sheds some of its old maladies. It’s still losing money domestically though, specifically at Paris Orly airport where Transavia will step in to provide relief. Handing more shorthaul French capacity to Transavia has long been on Air France’s radar. But only now does it have pilot consent.

It’s without consent that many online travel retailers sell Ryanair’s flights. They need to stop, the Irish LCC has long argued. And now in response to regulatory pressures, court rulings, and company efforts, many have suddenly obliged. This will mean modestly lower load factors in the short run, Ryanair advised. But it won’t have a material impact on the carrier’s annual profits.

Did Delta earn an annual profit in 2023? It sure did, and we’ll know exactly how much this week, when it kicks off fourth quarter earnings season on Friday. Expect lots of new commentary on demand trends as the new year gets underway.